Gel products fortified with calcium

ABSTRACT

Disclosed are improved, intermediate moisture sweetened gelled food compositions fortified with calcium supplied by calcium phosphate that is dispersed in an oil and/or fat. The gelled compositions comprise: A) about 55 to 85% by weight nutritive carbohydrate sweeteners; B) sufficient amounts of a gelling agent(s) to provide a gel strength of about 2-8 kg/cm 2 ; C) about 50 to 1500 mg/oz total calcium; and D) about 9 to 20% moisture, and E) about to 0.1% to 5% of an edible fatty triglyceride. Also disclosed are methods for the preparation of such fruit products involving forming a concentrated slurry of calcium phosphate having a particle size such that at least 90% are less than 150 μm dispersed in at least a portion of the oil and/or fat, forming a gellable blend and admixing the gellable composition with the slurry to form a gellable calcium fortified composition and forming into desired shaped and sized pieces.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application represents a divisional of U.S. patent application Ser.No. 09/596,512 filed Jun. 19, 2000 now U.S. Pat. No. 6,444,252, which isa continuation-in-part of commonly assigned U.S. patent application Ser.No. 09/197,214 entitled “Gel Products Fortified with Calcium and Methodof Preparation” filed on Nov. 20, 1998, now U.S. Pat. No. 6,077,557.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to food products and to their methods ofpreparation. More particularly, the present invention relates to gelledfood products fortified with calcium and to their methods ofpreparation.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The present invention provides an improvement in food products preparedby starch molding and to their methods of preparation. In particular,the present invention provides starch molded gelled food productsfortified with insoluble calcium.

In particular, the present invention provides further improvements inthe gelled food products and their methods of preparation taught in theparent application. In that application, a calcium slurry is preparedcomprising calcium phosphate salts and propylene glycol and/orglycerine. This calcium bearing slurry is added to other materials suchas sugars and fruit purees to form a calcium bearing gellable blend. Thecalcium bearing gellable blend is then further processed such as byforming that blend into shaped pieces and drying to form finishedcalcium fortified gelled food pieces.

The present improvement is directed towards an alternative to thatcalcium-in-propylene glycol and/or glycerine slurry. In the presentinvention, a calcium phosphate-in-liquid fat slurry can be used in fullor partial substitution for the benefits of better flavor, better shelflife and possibly greater bioavailability of the calcium.

For adults, recent medical studies have indicated that a diet containingthe U.S. recommended daily allowance (RDA) of calcium might be effectivein preventing or mitigating osteoporosis, and also possibly high bloodpressure and colon cancer. Calcium is also of particular nutritionalvalue in growing children to support bone growth. There is thereforegreat public interest in the consumption of food products that willsupply the recommended daily allowance of calcium.

Wholesome snacks prepared from sweetened intermediate moisture shelfstable fruit or “fruit snacks” herein have recently become popular fooditems. These compositions are sold in various physical forms and shapessuch as: 1) in rolled sheet form; 2) in rolled strip form; 3) in stringform mounted on a U-board; 4) soft center filled pieces, and 5) ingelled bite size pieces of various shapes or in gelled bite size pieceform prepared by starch molding.

Generally, these products are prepared from wet mixtures of the variousfruit materials and added ingredients that are dried to desired moisturecontents. The dehydrated compositions are formed into articles ofdesired shapes and sizes. Within this general similarity, however, theparticular methods of preparation, product formulations and apparatusused to prepare particular products vary considerably.

Particularly popular products are in rolled sheet form such as are soldunder the Fruit Roll-Ups brand. Popular products rolled strip form aresold under the Fruit By The Foot brand (see also, U.S. Pat. No.5,455,053 entitled “Rolled Food Item” issued Oct. 3, 1995). Foodproducts in string form mounted on a U-board are sold under the StringThing™ mark while other products in bite size pieces of various shapesare sold under various brands. (See, for example, commonly assigned U.S.Pat. No. 5,942,268 entitled “Embossed Shape Food Item” issued Aug. 24,1999 to Zimmermann et al.)

These dried fruit products are especially popular with children,particularly as snack or convenience foods. Growing children, of course,have a particular need for calcium in their diet. Unfortunately, fruitsnacks are not a good source of calcium. The typical calcium content ofa fruit is only on the order of under 50 mg/oz (dry basis).

Thus, while fruit snacks are popular, it would be desirable if suchfruit snacks were fortified with supplemental calcium to provide asignificantly nutritionally enhanced product. By significantlynutritionally enhanced is meant a product having at least 10% of thecurrent recommended daily allowance (“RDA”) or at least 100 mg ofcalcium (including both the native and supplemental contributions) per 1oz (wet basis) of fruit snack serving.

Adding an ingredient that supplies a soluble calcium ion can enhance thegelling properties of a variety of gelling agents, including pectin.Since fruit contains pectin, the prior art includes numerous teachingsregarding the use of soluble calcium to adjust the texture properties offruit materials. Jam and jelly making are two familiar examples.However, since the impact of soluble calcium or gel strength istypically strong even at low concentrations, the supplemental level isgenerally less than 500 PPM. Also, such fruit products typically havehigher moisture contents than the present fruit snacks. Thus, typicalcalcium level manipulation teachings regarding texture control do notprovide dried fruit compositions having the levels of calcium desiredfor nutritional fortification while also having desired textureproperties.

Further complicating the difficulties of formulating calcium fortifiedfood products is that calcium-containing materials have their ownparticular, frequently undesirable taste properties. Worse, calcium canalso interact with other ingredients, particularly flavors, to reducedesired flavors or to generate undesired off flavors especially overextended times at room temperature storage.

Previous art attempts at providing fruit products that have enhancedcalcium levels include commonly assigned U.S. Pat. No. 4,542,033entitled “Sugar and Acid Infused Fruit Products and Processes Therefor”issued Sep. 17, 1985 to Agarwala. The '033 patent teaches the infusionof sugars, acids and soluble calcium salts into discrete fruit pieceswith subsequent dehydration.

Similarly, the art includes numerous teachings directed towards forminga highly soluble complex of citric acid, malic acid and calcium. (See,for example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,186,965 entitled “Calcium Citrate MalateComposition”). While useful, such formulations require addition ofexpensive special ingredients or extensive processing to form thematerials in situ. Also, such teachings are directed toward fluidproducts albeit concentrates in some instances.

Commonly assigned U.S. Ser. No. 08/867,785 entitled “Dried FruitProducts Fortified With Calcium and Method of Preparation” (filed Jun.3, 1997, incorporated herein by reference) teaches methods by whichdried fruit products can be made that are fortified with insolublecalcium. The methods therein described involve the post drying blendingof insoluble calcium. Such methods are suitable for use for providingcalcium fortified dried or intermediate moisture fruit products thatare, for example, in the form of sheets or in rolled strip form.

While useful to provide calcium fortified fruit products of thoseparticular forms, it would be desirable to similarly provide starchmolded gelled bite size dried fruit products fortified with calcium,particularly those wherein the gel structuring agent is pectin. Thepresent invention satisfies this need by providing methods for preparingsuch starch molded gelled bite size dried fruit products that arecalcium fortified. In part, the present invention involves providing agelable sweetened fruit slurry that includes an insoluble calciumingredient.

It is a further object of the present invention to provide sweeteneddried fruit products having improved organoleptic properties.

In particular, it is an object of the present invention to providemethods for preparing calcium fortified sweetened dried gelled fruitcompositions.

Still another object of the present invention is to provide methods forprepared calcium fortified sweetened dried fruit products wherein thecalcium is supplied by insoluble calcium salts such as calciumphosphates.

Still another object of the present invention is to provide fruit gelproduct fortified with insoluble calcium and their methods ofpreparation.

Still another object of the present invention is to provide gelled foodproducts, particularly those that are fruit bearing, that are fortifiedto high levels of calcium that nonetheless exhibit good flavor bothinitially and over extended storage at room temperatures.

Still another objective is to provide food products fortified withcalcium provided by calcium phosphate salts of potentially enhanced orgreater bioavailability.

It has been surprisingly discovered that the above objectives can berealized and superior dried sweetened fruit provided by formulatingcompositions, comprising: nutritive carbohydrate sweeteners especiallythose provided by fruit solids, an acid setting pectin gelling agent,acidulants, high levels of insoluble calcium phosphate(s) of particularparticle size, a soluble calcium sequestrant and moisture. The presentinvention further provides novel methods of preparation of such calciumfortified gel products involving the preacidification incorporation ofthe insoluble calcium source material in slurry form wherein at least aportion of the slurry includes a liquid fat and/or an oil as thecarrier.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is block flow diagram of a process according to a method aspectof the present invention.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In its product aspect, the present invention is directed towards gelledsweetened, dried products such as bite sized pieces comprising fruitsolids, and a calcium phosphate salt in a quantity sufficient to bringthe total calcium content of the composition to from about 50 to 1500 mgper 28.4 g (1 oz) serving (wet basis) (0.15% to 5.5% by weight, wetbasis). The products essentially include low levels of fat provided byincluding a slurry of calcium phosphate in a liquid fat and/or oil.

The calcium amounts include both the native level supplied by the fruitmaterials source as well as the supplemental added calcium.

The calcium is supplied by an insoluble calcium phosphate selected fromthe group consisting of tricalcium phosphate, dicalcium phosphate, andtheir hydrates, and mixtures thereof.

The calcium phosphate has a preferred particle size of less than 150microns.

The gelled food products essentially comprise:

About 55% to 85% of sugar(s);

Sufficient amounts of a gel-structuring ingredient to provide gelstrength of about 1-8 Kilogram force/cm² or more preferably, 1.5-4 Kgmeasured with a 0.4 cm diameter probe.

About 0.2 to 6% calcium provided from an insoluble calcium phosphatesalt;

About 0.1% to 1% of a soluble calcium sequestering ingredient;

About 0.5 to 5% of edible lipids and

A moisture content of about 15 to 25%.

In its process aspect, the present invention resides in methods ofpreparing a gelled dried sweetened fruit product fortified with calciumsuch as prepared by starch molding. The process involves the pre-gellingaddition of a source of insoluble calcium. The calcium phosphate has apreferred particle size of less than 150 microns.

The methods comprise the steps in sequence of:

Providing a slurry gel base comprising nutritive carbohydrate sweetenersespecially fruit materials that contribute fruit solids, sufficientamounts of a gelling agent (such as pectin, gelatin, and/or starch) toprovide a gel strength in the finished product of about 1 to 8 Kg/cm²force, an insoluble calcium phosphate of the requisite particle size toprovide a total calcium content of about 50 to 1500 mg of calcium per 1oz of product (0.15 to 5.5% by weight calcium) and moisture adding;

Adding sufficient amounts of an edible organic acidulant to the fruitbase to provide a gellable fruit base having a pH ranging from about 3.0to 5.5; to form a calcium fortified gellable base;

Forming the base calcium fortified fruit base into suitably sized andshaped individual pieces; and

Curing the pieces to form calcium fortified gelled pieces.

In the preferred embodiment, calcium phosphate salt is admixed with anoil liquid carrier in a weight ratio of about 1:1 to about 1:8 to formslurry. The slurry is mixed with the cooked blend.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The present invention provides improved, intermediate moisture gelledsweetened fruit products that are calcium fortified and that comprisesfruit solids, calcium phosphate and moisture and further providesmethods for preparing such fruit products. Each of these components aswell as product properties, preparation and use are described in detailbelow.

Throughout the specification and claims, percentages are by weight andtemperatures in degrees Centigrade unless otherwise indicated.

Sweeteners

A principal essential component of the present invention food productsis one or more nutritive carbohydrate sweeteners or sugars. The presentgelled products essentially comprise about 55% to about 80% dry weightbasis of such nutritive carbohydrate sweeteners, preferably about 55% toabout 70%, and for best results about 60% to about 65%. Such sugars notonly provide taste and nutritional properties but also influence thetexture and structure of the present products.

Nutritive carbohydrate sweeteners are well known in the art and theskilled artisan will have no difficulty in selecting particularingredients for use herein as the nutritive carbohydrate sweetenercomponent. Generally, however, the term “nutritive carbohydratesweetening agent” is used herein to mean those typical purifiedsweetening agents conventionally used in food products. Of course, thepresent nutritive carbohydrate-sweetening agents are to be distinguishedfrom non-nutritive carbohydrate high potency sweetening agents such assaccharine, cyclamate, and the like. Additionally, the present nutritivecarbohydrate-sweetening agents are to be distinguished from suchprotein-based sweetening agents as aspartame, thaumatin, and monellin.

Suitable materials for use as nutritive carbohydrate sweetening agentsare well known in the art. Examples of sweetening agents include bothmonosaccharide and disaccharide sugars such as sucrose, invert sugar,dextrose, lactose, honey, maltose, fructose, maple syrup and corn syrupor corn syrup solids. Preferred nutritive carbohydrate sweetening agentsare those selected from the group consisting of sucrose, glucose,fructose, corn syrup solids, and honey. Highly preferred nutritivecarbohydrate sweetening agents are those selected from the groupconsisting of sucrose, corn syrup solids, and fructose. Of course,mixtures of the above-noted materials are contemplated herein.

In a preferred embodiment, the ratio of monosaccharide to disaccharidesweeteners is controlled so as to minimize the development of unwantedproperties in the finished food product over storage such as thedevelopment of crystals. To that end, the ratio can be and preferablydoes range from about 0.5:1 to about 1.8:1, and more preferably, about0.7:1 to about 1.5:1.

In preferred embodiments, the gelled products herein are fruit products.In such preferred embodiments, the gelled products are furtheressentially characterized by having at least a portion of the nutritivecarbohydrate sweeteners as being provided by or from fruit sources orfruit solids. The fruit solids can be derived from fruit purees preparedfrom whole fruit flesh or if such purees have been partially dehydrated,fruit paste. The term “puree” has been used in the art to refer to bothheat treated, e.g., boiled and untreated food pulp. As used herein,however, “puree” is meant to refer both to heat and unheat-treated wholefruit pieces, which have been mechanically transformed into fluids.Thus, the present comminuted fruit material can be distinguished fromdiscrete individual pieces of intact fruit flesh.

Both unseeded and, preferably, deseeded purees can be used. Fruit pureegenerally contains about 35 to 90% moisture. Other edible fruitportions, such as fruit pulp can also supply the fruit solids component.Fruit pulp is the material remaining after fruit juices have beenremoved from fruit puree. Additionally useful herein for supplying thefruit solids are various fruit juices whether single strength orconcentrated.

Fruit materials from any fruit can be used herein. Examples of suchfruits useful herein include apricot, pineapples lemon, orange, peach,pear, lime, banana, grape, mango, apple, tomato, blackberry, plum,watermelon, blueberry, raspberry, strawberry, current, cherry,cranberry, and mixtures thereof. Preferred fruits are selected from thegroup consisting of apples, strawberries, cherries, pears, blueberries,raspberries, grapes, oranges and mixtures thereof. Most highly preferredfor use herein are grapes, strawberries, pears, oranges and cherries.

Fresh fruit is, of course, useful for preparing the products herein.However, previously frozen fruit, canned fruit, partially dehydratedfruit or rehydrated fruit, as well as frozen juices, concentrates,nectars, powders or frozen juice pulps are also suitable for use herein.When frozen fruit is employed, e.g., “four plus one” strawberries, i.e.,frozen strawberries with one quarter part by weight added sugar, onlythe fruit solids contribution is to be considered.

While the present invention is primarily directed towards fruitcontaining products, the skilled artisan will appreciate that thepresent invention is equivalently applicable to all edible plant solids,especially ordinary garden-variety vegetables. The sugars, flavors,acids, pectinaceous or cellulosic fibers and ash of which plant solidsare typically comprised are intended to be included within the termedible plant solids. However, “edible plant solids” is not intended toinclude such starch fractions as wheat or other cereal flours noroleaginous materials such soybean oil. That is, the present fruit solidscan be wholly or partially replaced with equivalent amounts of ordinarygarden vegetable solids. However, vegetable flavored products are notnearly as popular as those, which are fruit, flavored. However, certainvegetables, e.g., pumpkin, squash and carrot enjoys some popularity asnovelty items.

Also useful herein are fruit juice solids especially from inexpensivefruit sources such as grape juice, apple juice, and pear juice. Ifpresent, such juice solids can constitute about 0.1 to about 70% of thefinished fruit snack products herein.

In even more preferred embodiments, the present compositions essentiallycomprise from about 5 to 100% (dry weight basis) of the nutritivecarbohydrate sweetener component of fruit or plant solids. That is, if100 g of a gelled product has a total sweetener component of 60% (wetbasis), then in the preferred embodiment, at least 3 g thereof areprovided from fruit solids. Better results in terms of natural flavorand color but at economical costs are obtained when the fruit solids arepresent at from about 5 to 25% of the sweetener component. Best resultsare obtained when the fruit solids are comprise about 5 to 15% of thenutritive carbohydrate sweetener component.

If desired, the present gelled products can additionally comprisesupplemental high potency sweeteners such as saccharine, aspartame,thaumatin, potassium acetylsulfame, and mixtures thereof. Other suitablehigh potency sweeteners that become permitted for use or commerciallyavailable from time to time can also be used.

Gelling Agent

The present calcium fortified gelled food products further essentiallycomprise sufficient amounts of a gelling agent to provide the finishedproducts with a gel strength at the desired moisture levels herein ofabout 1-8 Kg/cm² force.

Gel strength or hardness can be measured both directly and expressed asgrams force and indirectly expressed as a viscosity. To measure hardnessa Kramer single blade shear cell was used. In this test, the test pieceis placed over a slot in the base of the test fixture. A shear blade isthen driven down at a constant speed down through the test piece, andthe blade continues into the slot of the base. The recorded measurementis the peak force as the blade cuts through the test piece. The forcetransducer that records the test force is calibrated using metricweights, so the measurement units reported are in kilograms-force.Useful for performing this test is any Universal Testing machine such asis available from Stevens, Instron or, prefereably from Stable MicroSystems (e.g., using its Model TA.HD Texture Analyzer) The gel hardnesscan also be alternatively measured using a standard Brookfieldviscometer (Model RVDV) with a helipath stand and D-T-bar spindle. Thesetechnique measures the force required to cut through a gelled liquid.The D-T-bar spindle rotates at a set speed and is slowly lowered by thehelipath stand into the sample. The Brookfield measures the torquerequired for the spindle to “cut” through the sample. The helicalpattern traced by the spindle as it both rotates (5 RPM) and is loweredcauses the spindle to always be cutting through undisturbed gel. Thecutting force or torque reading on the viscometer is an empiricalmeasure of gel strength.

Temperature is critical to obtaining an accurate viscosity reading andthus the samples are tempered to 70° to 75° F. (21° to 24° C.) prior totesting. Reported values are averaged over five readings taken atregular time intervals and are read directly from the instrumentdisplay. The Brookfield RVDV reading is reported as centipoise (cps).Typical gel strength reading for the gel described herein using theBrookfield method range between 100,000 to 300,000 cps, most preferredbeing 150,000 to 250,000 cps.

The art is replete with suitable gelling agents and the skilled artisanwill have not difficulty in selecting suitable gelling agent(s) for useherein. Gelling agents, of course, are to be distinguished from merethickening agents. Good results are obtained when all or at least aportion of the gelling agent is provided by a member is supplied by amember from the group consisting of gelatin, gellan gum, carbohydrategel forming polymers (such as pectin, gel forming starches, dextran,agar, and mixtures thereof), and mixtures thereof and wherein the gel isfree of alginates. Alginates are undesirable since the resulting productwill not have desirable texture and will have less firmness. Among thegel forming carbohydrate polymer gel forming ingredients, pectin and gelforming starches are preferred. Preferred for use herein is gelatin orpectin.

The particular gelling agent(s) usage level depends upon a variety offactors such as the desired textural properties in the finished product,total solids level and type, strength of the gelling agents, whetherpectin is provided by fruit materials included in the formulation andthe amount of pectin so provided. Generally, however, good results areobtained when the total gelling agent (total of added and that providedby other ingredients such as the fruit solids) is present at levelsranging from about 1% to 10%.

In more preferred embodiments, the gelling agent is selected so as toform an irreversible gel. An irreversible gel is a gel that will setquickly, but will also tend to degrade in texture and strength underconditions of increased shear and/or temperature. Such an irreversiblegel forming gel ingredient is preferred to provide good image detailduring the molding operation.

In the most preferred embodiment, the gelling agent of choice is pectin;especially high methoxy pectin since such pectin sets at the preferredpH as described below.

It will be appreciated that the fruit solids, if employed, willadditionally provide some native amount of pectin. Good results areobtained when the total pectin (including both the native pectinassociated with the fruit solids and added pure pectin) content rangesfrom about 0.8% to about 2%.

A gel forming starch can be used alone or, preferably, is used incombination with gelatin or pectin as a supplemental gelling ingredient.Good results are obtained when the supplemental gel forming starchgelling ingredient is present at about 1% to 10% in addition to a pectinor gelatin content ranging from about 1% to 2%.

Moisture

The present gelled finished products essentially comprise about 13% to25% moisture, preferably about 16% to 20% moisture. This moisture levelin combination with the high level of sweeteners result in finishedproducts having an “intermediate” water activity (“A_(w)”) ranging fromabout 0.4 to 0.70.

Sequestrant

The present food compositions further essentially comprise sufficientamounts of a calcium sequestrant to bind up any substantially allavailable soluble calcium. Binding up any soluble calcium (such asprovided by fruit ingredients, make-up water used in processing to formthe present products, associated with the insoluble calcium ingredientsas described below, etc.) is desirable to insure that the textureproperties of the finished product remains constant or as nearly so asis possible, over extended storage time.

Calcium buffers are also well known in the confection art. Suitablesoluble calcium or sequestrants to use are sodium or potassium citrates(e.g., trisodium citrate), phosphates, acetates, tartrates, malates,fumarates, adipates, ascorbates and mixtures thereof. Especiallypreferred for use herein as the sequestrant is a mixture of sodiumcitrate and sodium hexametaphosphate in a 15-20:1 weight ratio.

Generally, the amount of sequestrate will range from about 0.1 to 1% ofthe composition. Good results are obtained when the sequestrant(s)ranges for example, about 1.5% to 4% sodium citrate and about 0.2% to0.5% and sodium hexametaphosphate. However, at excessive buffer levels,the aqueous gel solution will be over buffered and the finished productwill have a soft texture if water with a low hardness level is used.

Suitable for use as a sequestrant herein is a material selected from thegroup consisting of sodium citrate, ethylenediaminetetraacetate(“EDTA”), sodium tripolyphosphate, and mixtures thereof. Preferredsequestrants are selected from the group consisting of sodiumtripolyphosphate and mixtures thereof. Good results are obtained whenthe sequestrant is present at about 0.05% to 0.30%.

Calcium Phosphate Salt

The present fruit snack compositions and products fabricated therefromessentially further comprise an insoluble calcium salt of definedparticle size in an amount effective to provide the desired calciumenrichment. Good results are obtained when the present fruit snackcompositions and products contain about 50 to 1500 mg calcium per one oz(0.15 to 5.5%). Better results are obtained when the calcium is presentat levels of about 90 to 500 mg/oz (wet basis) of product (0.7 to 4.2%).For best results, the total calcium present ranges from about 90 to 200mg per ounce (0.7 to 1.05%) of finished fruit product. Excessive calciumfortification is to be avoided in part because the finished product canexhibit an undesirable sticky and chalky texture somewhat like taffy.

Soluble calcium salts typically are expensive and contain low weightpercentages of calcium. While calcium chloride is an exception to thisgeneralization, addition of significant calcium levels supplied bycalcium chloride impart an unacceptable salty and bitter flavor to driedsweetened fruit products.

Useful herein as the source of supplemental calcium is calciumphosphate. Calcium phosphate is generally available as a monobasic(CaH₄(PO₄)₂.H₂O), dibasic (CaHPO₄.2H₂O) or tribasic (Ca₃(PO₄)₂) salts.Preferred for use herein is tricalcium phosphate, Ca₃(PO₄)₂, (“TCP”)because of its high weight percentage of calcium (about 38%). Moreover,TCP is slightly more soluble than other calcium phosphate salts.

A useful tricalcium phosphate starting material is also known astribasic calcium phosphate or tricalcium orthophosphate and iscommercially available in food chemicals codex grade from Monsanto orRhone Poulenc, having the general formula 3Ca₃(PO₄)₂.Ca(OH)₂. Thisproduct provides an assayed calcium content of from 34 to 40% by weight.Less preferred but nonetheless useful herein is anhydrous dicalciumphosphate, also known as anhydrous dibasic calcium phosphate, having aformula of CaHPO₄. An anhydrous dicalcium phosphate material is alsocommercially available from Stauffer Chemicals in food chemical codexgrade, providing an assay calcium content from about 30 to about 31.7%calcium by weight. Other calcium phosphate hydrates also can be useful,including, but not limited to, calcium pyrophosphate, calciumhexametaphosphate and monobasic calcium phosphate.

Phosphate salts are a preferred source of calcium, not only because oftheir acid solubility and weight ratios, but also because they areavailable commercially as a precipitate from whey, a natural dairyproduct.

The skilled artisan will appreciate that while the present calciumphosphate salts are characterized herein as insoluble, of course, somesmall percentage will dissolve in water depending in part upon thetemperature and pH. However, at the concentrations of calcium salt usedboth in the slurry and the dried fruit composition products herein, thegreat percentage is in a solid state.

While not wishing to be bound by the proposed theory, it is speculatedherein that the taste and taste stability advantages of the presentinvention reside in part due to the relatively inert or unreactivenature of the insoluble calcium phosphate salts selected. These salts bybeing inert not only do not form complexes such as soluble calciumsource materials but also are relatively unreactive to the oil solubleflavors selected for use herein.

Unfortunately, other calcium salts that might otherwise be thought asuseful but cannot be employed for one reason or another include, calciumascorbate (bad flavor), calcium citrate (creates a chalky product andimparts a bad after taste), calcium carbonate (too effervescent andimparts a bad off-flavor), calcium gluconate (too expensive), calciumlactate (bad flavor), calcium chloride (bitter flavor) and calciumsulfate (too strongly flavored). In preferred embodiments, the presentproducts are substantially free (>0.2%) of such calcium materials.

Fat

Certain embodiments additionally can comprise a fat (oil and/or solid)component and the improved embodiment does comprise fat. The fatcomponent additionally affects the eating qualities of the presentcompositions. Inclusion of fat increases the shortness of the texture aswell as reduces modestly the stickiness of the composition to theconsumer's teeth. The fat ingredient can also assist in minimizinginteraction between any oil soluble flavors included and the insolublecalcium ingredient.

The fat can comprise preferably about 0.1 to 8%, more preferably 0.5 to5% and for best results about 1% to about 2% of the composition. Usefulherein are fats and oils that are conventional for use in food products,especially for confections. Both conventional fatty triglyceridicmaterials such as oils and solid fats can be used herein as well asblends of fats and oils. Also useful herein are fats, especiallypartially hydrogenated oils such as canola, corn oil, safflower,soybean, coconut, cottonseed or fractionated oils, all of which havemelting points above room temperature. Less preferred are animal derivedfats. Employment of such particular fats is preferred due to a reducedtendency of the glyceridic component to grease out of the present fruitcompositions. In other preferred variations, the oils are selected tohave and provide higher levels of medium chain tryglycerides. While notproven and not universally accepted, it is believed by many in the artthat the presence of medium chain tryglycerides benificially enhancesthe bioavailability of calium phosphate salts possibly by increasingcalium absorption. One suitable oil that provides high levels of suchmedium chain tryglycerides is canola oil.

In preferred embodiments, the fat component can additionally includelecithin and other emulsifiers, e.g., acetylated mon-glycerides, ifdesired.

Oil Soluble Flavors

Optionally, the present gel food products can further additionallyinclude effective amounts of oil soluble flavor(s). Selection of oilsoluble flavors to the exclusion of conventional water-soluble flavorshas been found important to minimization of undesirable adverseinteraction between the flavor and the calcium. Such interaction canlead to the development of undesirable flavors as well as the loss ofintensity of desired flavors. Indeed, the present gel products arepreferably free of added water-soluble, or alcohol, propylene glycol orglycerine-based flavors. (The last two may be in combination withoil-based flavors.)

If present, such oil soluble flavors can comprise effective amounts ofsuch oil soluble flavors to provide desired flavor levels. Good resultsare generally obtained when the oil soluble flavors are present at fromabout 0.01% to about 2% of the finished products.

Additional Ingredients

The present food compositions can optionally contain a variety ofadditional ingredients suitable for rendering such products moreorganoleptically acceptable, more nutritious and/or more storage stable.While not essential to the present food compositions, such optionalcomponents include fiber materials, high potency sweeteners, colors,coloring agents, vitamins, preservatives (e.g., sodium bisulfite),emulsifiers, calcium carriers (e.g., propylene glycol), dairy products(e.g., non fat dairy solids), and the like. Of course, highly preferredfor use herein are “natural” ingredient additives.

Acidulant

In preferred embodiments, the present compositions further essentiallycomprise sufficient amounts of an edible organic acid or acidulant toprovide the gel with a pH of about 3.0 to 5.5, preferably about 3.2 to4.5, and for best results about 3.2 to 3.6. The particular pH selectedfrom within this pH range depends in part upon the type of gellingingredient employed as well as the organoleptic attributes desired. Forexample, in the preferred embodiment that contains high levels of fruitsolids and wherein the gelling agent is a high methoxy pectin, thepreferred pH range varies from about 3.2 to about 3.5.

A variety of edible organic acids can be used to adjust the pH of thepresent invention as well as to control the taste and tartness of thepresent products. Especially suitable for use herein are citric acid,tartaric acid, malic acid, lactic acid, fumaric acid, ascorbic acid andmixtures thereof.

Bulking Ingredient

In one highly preferred embodiment, the gel formulation includes abodying agent. The bodying agent can serve to add both bulk and bodyand, most importantly, provide additional solids so as to enable therealization of gel compositions having moisture contents within theessential ranges given herein.

Especially useful herein as bodying agents are dextrins especiallymaltodextrins. Generally, the maltodextrin component is present at fromabout 0.1% by weight to about 25% by weight. Superior results in termsof sweetness balancing and prevention of crystallization are obtainedwhen the maltodextrin component is present in the compositions at fromabout 3 to 10% by weight. For best results, however, the maltodextrincomponent should be employed at from about 3% to 5% of the dried gelcomposition.

The bland maltodextrin provides minimal sweetness. Thus, low D.E.(dextrose equivalent) maltodextrin should be employed. By low D.E. ismeant a maltodextrin with a D.E. of less than about 20. Low D.E.maltodextrins are commercially available and the skilled artisan willhave no difficulty in selecting suitable maltodextrins for use herein.Generally, however, maltodextrins can be obtained by dextrinization ofstarch, particularly cornstarch. Enzymatic hydrolyzates, optionallyunder acidic conditions, of the starch can be used; the conditions areso mild that negligible repolymerization occurs. This is in contrast todextrins that typically are made from starch by hydrolyzates andrepolymerization by using high temperature and pressure by dry heatingor roasting of the starches (pyro dextrins). Such materials are wellknown (see, for example, U.S. Pat. No. 3,586,513, issued Jun. 22, 1972to H. E. Horn et al. and U.S. Pat. No. 4,335,155, issued Jun. 15, 1982to Blake et al.), and are widely available in the food industry.

Another class of materials useful herein as bodying or bulking agents ishydrogenated starch hydrolyzates that are commonly referred to as“polydextrose.” Polydextrose provides an added advantage of being a lowcalorie material, i.e., having about one calorie per gram as opposed toabout four calories per gram for most carbohydrates.

In still another variation, the present products can further compriseabout 0.15 to 10% inulin, preferably about 0.5% to 5%. Inulin or equalysuitable like frusto oligo saccharides (“FOS”) ingredients provide thebenefits of soluble fiber without the adverse organoleptic or allerginfeatures of such other soluble fiber materials such as oat bran,psyllium, beta glucan, and guar gum. Moreover, it is believed thatinulin and/or FOS materials facilitates the absorption of calcium whenprovided in the form of calium phosphate salts. It is an advantageherein that inulin and FOS materials behave in a manner similar tosugars which allows for ease of use and incorporation. Thus, inulin canconveniently be added to fruit and sugars blend 12. Also, inulin's blandflavor makes inulin particularly suitable for use in children's productssince chilren are notoriously sensitive to off flavors. Morever, it isbelieved that there is a synergistic effect when both inulin and mediumchain tryglycerides are both present on the absorption of calcium fromcalcium phosphate salts.

Since the target consumers for the present calcium fortified fruit gelfood products are children, especially young children, the presentproducts are desirably free of alcohol. It will be appreciated thattrace amounts of alcohol may be present such as provided by the flavorcomponent. Thus, alcohol free products herein will have less than 0.1%alcohol.

The finished products are formed into suitably sized and shaped pieces.In a preferred embodiment, the pieces are bite sized ranging from about1 to 8 g each. The pieces can, if desired, be imparted with a particularshape such as an animal or vehicle. The pieces can be of all one coloror portions can be of additional colors.

In certain embodiments, the pieces are provided having a topicalcoating. In one variation, the topical coating can be of crystalline orgranulated sucrose to provide a “sugared” confection piece. In anothervariation, the topical coating of a lipid (such as oil or oil/wax blend)can be applied to provide a shinny or glossy finish. In still anothervariation, the topical coating can be in the form of a hard sugar shell.In still another variation, the topical coating can additionally includeadditional flavor, colors, preservatives, vitamins, and minerals. In onevariation, for example, additional calcium phosphate salt is admixedwith granular sugar to provide sugared confections that providesadditional calcium fortification:

Generally, the weight ratio of base piece to topical coating ranges fromabout 10:1 to about 1000:1.

METHOD OF PREPARATION

Referring now to the drawing, in its method aspect, the presentinvention provides methods 10 for preparing the present calciumfortified gel food products. The present methods first essentiallycomprise the step of providing a gel forming base blend 20 of the baseconstituents. The base constituents include the sugars 12 (including anyfruit based ingredients), calcium sequestrant 14, lipid (such as oil orfat) 16, gelling agent(s) 18, and insoluble calcium phosphate salt 19.

Conventional methods and techniques can be used to practice step 20. Theblend is a homogeneous mass and not in the form of discrete pieces.Typically, a base blend is prepared comprising about 70° to 86° Brix,preferably about 75 to 84% solids, and for best results about 80 to 82%solids. The base blend can be prepared in a continuous process, such asin a twin screw extruder, batch or semi-continuous processes. In morepreferred embodiments, the base blend 20 is characterized by a viscousbut fluid consistency immediately prior to the described forming step,e.g., having a viscosity of about 15,000 to 50,000 cps. preferably about18,000 to 22,000 cps. Such a viscous yet fluid consistency facilitatesforming the blend into pieces without forming trailing edges or othershape imperfections.

In preferred embodiments, the base blend is heated to 76.6 to 87.7° C.(170 to 200° F.), preferably 79.4 to 85° C. (175 to 195° F.), and forbest results about 82.2° C. (180° F.) and held for 3 min to 2 hoursprior to the flavor/color admixture step. Such heating is especiallyhelpful to fully hydrate any gelling agents such as starch.

In certain preferred embodiments, especially for batch orsemi-continuous process, step 20 can comprise the sub-step of providingan aqueous premix of dissolved sugar ingredients (including any fruitingredients), bulking agents, preservatives, buffers, inulin and/orother FOS materials and optionally all or a portion of any starchgelling agents. This aqueous premix can be heated or cooked such as withsteam 13 to temperatures 200-350° F. (step 30) Such units as steaminjection with back pressure valve or a direct cook system can beemployed to reach such temperatures.

Step 30 can also include the substep of providing fat in liquid formoptionally admixed with an emulsifier. For example, fat that is normallysolid at room temperature can be heated to above its melting temperatureto provide a fluid or liquid fat. Good results are obtained when the fatis heated to about 120° to 160° F. The liquid fat can be admixed with anemulsifier such as lecithin. Good results are obtained when the ratio offat to lecithin (or other emulsifiers) ranges from about 5:1 to about20:1, preferably about 10:1. The fat can also be mixed with orsubstituted with an oil especially canola oil which is a good source ofmedium chain tryglycerides.

Step 20 can further include a substep of providing an insoluble calciumphosphate salt slurry 19 by mixing the calcium phosphate with a nonaqueous liquid carrier, preferably all or at least a portion of the fat.If a fat that is normally solid at room temperature is selected for use,then the fat is first heated above its melting point and maintained attemperatures hot enough to maintain as a fluid even after the calciumphosphate salt is added. If an oil is selected then, the oil can be butis not necessarily heated. If desired, all of the added calciumphosphate ingredient(s) can be combined with a portion of the oil and/orfat and added to the base blend 20 to form a calcium fortified gelblend. Also, if desired, a portion of the fat can be added separately.The fat carrier can be and preferably does contain an emulsifier tofacilitate the disperion of the calcium phosphate in the fat slurry.Also, the fat provides a convenient means for evenly adding any includedemulsifier. The weight ratio of calcium phosphate to oil in the slurrycan range from about 1:1 to about 1:10, more preferably from 1:2 toabout 1:3. At higher levels of calcium, the slurry can become pasty andthus difficult to pump or otherwise handle. At lower calcium levels,more fat can be added to the composition than might be desired.

In other embodiments, a second or supplemental slurry 24 can be also beprovided wherein the liquid carrier comprises a non-aqueous watersoluble carrier. Non-aqueous carriers provide an advantage since they donot add back moisture to the dried fruit. Excessive moisture additioncan result in product instability. Preferred for use herein for thenon-aqueous carrier is an ingredient selected from the group consistingof propylene glycol, glycerin and mixtures thereof. For example, a firstessential fat based calcium slurry can be used to supply about ½ of thedesired supplemental calcium, e.g., tricalcium phosphate. Thiscalcium-in-fat slurry is then added to the base blend 20. A supplementalsecond blend wherein the carrier comprises propylene glycol and/orglycerin can also be used to provide the other ½ of the calcium materialwhether the same or a different material, e.g., dicalcium phosphate.

Generally, the slurry comprises the maximum feasible amount of calciumphosphate so as to minimize carrier addition to the dried fruitcomposition. Good results are obtained when the slurry comprises about10 to 70% calcium phosphate, preferably 25 to 50%, and about 30 to 90%carrier, preferably about 50 to 75% carrier so as to form an easilypumpable slurry. For best results, a 25:75 mixture of calcium phosphateand liquid carrier mixture is used as the slurry. In a less preferredvariation, the tricalcium phosphate (“TCP”) is added as a simple drymaterial without a carrier. In this embodiment, the TCP is added as afine powder.

In more preferred embodiments, the calcium slurry is added to a cookedaqueous premix or blend so as to avoid exposure of the blend with theinsoluble calcium for extended times at elevated temperatures. Thispractice minimizes undesirable adverse reactions that can lead tooff-flavors.

In a less preferred embodiment, a portion of the calcium is providedwherein the carrier is water. The present calcium phosphate materialsare highly alkaline, especially when dispersed in water. In order toavoid altering the pH of the finished fruit products when the calciumphosphate is admixed and avoid an impact on the taste of the products,it is important to “adjust” the aqueous calcium phosphate slurry. The pHis brought to the approximate acidity of the dried fruit compositionbeing fortified by addition of the calcium. It is also important toavoid over acidifying the calcium phosphate. Thus, the pH should bewithin a few tenths of a pH of the dried fruit composition.

Since the pH of the gel finished products in the preferred fruitcontaining form generally will range from about 3.0 to 5.5, good resultsare generally obtained when the aqueous slurry pH ranges from about 3.2to 4.6, preferably about 3.2 to 3.6. The preferred pH of the calciumslurry is at the pH of the dried fruit composition or below.

The slurry pH is adjusted to particular values within the above range byaddition of an acid or acidulant. Useful herein as the acidulant areadipic, citric acid, fumaric, malic acid, and mixtures thereof.Preferred for use herein as an acidulant is citric acid. When in thepreferred form the slurry is free of water, then sufficient amounts ofedible organic or mineral acid is added to the wet fruit blend beforedrying such that the final product is within the desired pH range afteraddition of the calcium phosphate.

Most importantly, the calcium phosphate has a particle size such that90% has a particle size of less than 150 microns (“μm”), that is, a finepowder. Having a calcium phosphate being of sufficiently reducedparticle size is to avoiding a “grittiness” organoleptic attribute inthe finished dried fruit composition.

A useful technique for ensuring that the calcium phosphate is of therequisite particle size in small-scale production is to screen a calciumphosphate starting material. For example, a maximum of 0.5% on a #100U.S. standard sieve and a minimum of 95% through a #100 U.S. standardsieve is preferred (wet sieve method).

Another technique is to employ a supplemental size reduction step 26(shown in FIG. 1 with a dashed/optional line) after calcium slurrypreparation but prior to admixture 30 with the base blend 20. Suitablesupplemental size reduction techniques include, for example, passing theslurry through a colloidal mill, passing the slurry through meshscreens/strainers, using a high speed shear impeller in the blender inwhich the slurry is prepared.

Preferably, the size reduction step results in a slurry wherein thecalcium salt has mean particle size of 100 μm and for best results amean particle size of less than 50 μm (“50 μm>”).

When an aqueous carrier is employed, the slurry makeup can include aheating substep with vigorous agitation to insure hydration and/orsuspension of the insoluble calcium salt.

All or part of the calcium sequestrant can optionally be added to thesugars preblend 12 or directly into the cooked base blend 20 or aportion into each.

Step 30 can further comprise a substep of providing a hydrated gellingagent dispersed in an aqueous carrier. For example, pectin can bedispersed into water and heated to about 170° F. to about 200° F. Goodresults are obtained when the gelling agent in the aqueous carriercomprises about 5% to 12%.

It will be appreciated that these substeps can be performedsimultaneously as well as in various order combinations.

The present methods can further comprise the step 30 of admixingsufficient amounts of edible organic acidulates to provide a pH to thebase blend of about 3.0 to 5.5 to provide an acidified gellable or gelforming base blend. When in the preferred embodiment, a high methoxylpectin is used as the gelling agent, sufficient amounts of acidulant areadmixed to provide the base blend with a pH ranging from about 3.2 toabout 3.6. Conveniently, an aqueous dispersion of the acidulant(s) canbe prepared comprising about 25 to 50% water. The moisture content ofthe base blend and acidulant solution is controlled such that afterblending, the acidified base blend is of desired moisture contentlevels.

If desired, the acidified gel forming base blend can then be dividedinto a plurality of substreams. If desired, supplemental colors andflavors can be admixed into the acidified base blend, preferably aftercooling to avoid extended exposure of the sensitive flavor materials toelevated temperatures, for color and flavor manipulation of the fruitcomposition. Since the calcium phosphate salt is white and of fine size,a colorant is preferred for use to mask the white color of the calciumphosphate salt. A color and/or flavor 34 can be admixed with a firstsubstream of acidified base blend 40A while a second favor/color blend36 can be admixed with a second substream of acidified base blend 40B.

In preferred variations, the acidified base gel forming blend is allowedto cool to a temperature of about 180° F. to about 210° F. proximate tothe flavor and color admixture step.

In certain embodiments, the fruit material is quite bland and/or lacks astrong color, e.g., when white grape puree solids and/or pear juicesupply the fruit source. If desired, the-acidified base blend can bepartitioned into individual substreams to which a separate color and/orflavor can be added. Thus, it is an advantage of this embodiment thatfrom a single drying apparatus, a plurality or multiplicity ofdifferently colored or flavored products can be prepared from a singlehomogeneous wet blend batch or supply.

Any suitable technique for uniformly blending the acidified gel formingbase blend with flavor and color can be employed. Preferred for useherein for practicing the admixing is to employ in-line static mixerssince the addition is accomplished with minimal shear being imparted.

Thereafter, the calcium fortified sweetened gel forming base blendcomposition can be fabricated into suitably sized and shaped individualpieces to form the present calcium fortified low moisture gelled snackproducts herein.

Conveniently, the well-known starch mold casting techniques can be usedto practice the piece-forming step. Starch molding is often referred toin the trade as the Mogul system 52. Generally, the starch mold castingprocess involves the steps of forming the calcium fortified gellablebase blend 38 into pieces 50 such as depositing into a plurality ofmolds or depressions formed into starch beds. During this step,importantly the calcium fortified gellable base blend 38 is in the formof a viscous fluid or plastic mass. The individual pieces are thenallowed to cure 60 and, if needed, to dry to form individual gelledpieces. The pieces are removed from the starch molds such as byscalping. The Mogul system further involves recovery and reuse of thestarch.

For “high moisture” gellable base blends 38, e.g., having a solidsconcentration of about 75° Brix to 82° Brix curing and drying timestypically range from about 12 to 48 hours. Moisture reduction is modest.Typically, the pieces lose about 1% to 4% moisture during thecuring/drying step 60. Drying temperatures are typically 60-150° F. Forthose low moisture gellable base blend 38 variations requiring little orno moisture removal, i.e., above 83° Brix, the duration of the curingstep 60 can be much shorter even less than one hour. In theseembodiments, the curing step can be practiced using the starch mogulprocess or employing other suitable molding techiques, e.g., in siliconebased fixed shape molds.

As a result of curing in such starch molds, the finished pieces canacquire modest amount of additional starch such as about 1% to about 5%topical starch.

The pieces so formed can range in size from about 2 to 10 g, preferablyabout 1 to 5 g. In preferred embodiments, the gel pieces are formed intoshapes having an ornamental configuration such as geometric shapes orshapes of animal or vehicles.

The individually shaped pieces can then be subsequently packaged inconventional manner. Especially useful are moisture sealed pouchesfabricated from flexible film packaging impermeable flexible holdingabout 5 to 15 individual pieces collectively weighing about 25 to 50 g.

The finished products are soft, pliable products of both good flavor andeating quality. The products also provide exceptional nutritionalproperties in terms of sources of calcium. The products exhibit goodinitial flavor characteristics as well as prolonged resistance to flavordegradation at room temperature storage. The food products so formed arecharacterized by being nutritious, wholesome snacks and being fortifiedwith high levels of calcium. The finished products have a preferredwater activity (“A_(w)”) ranging from about 0.5 to 0.6 and moisturecontent of 15 to 25%, preferably about 18 to 22%.

In further variations of the present invention, the gel food pieces canbe provided with a topical coating. The methods of preparation 10 canfurther comprise a step of applying a topical coating 80. In onevariation, the topical coating application step can involve applying acoating comprising a liquid oil optionally admixed with a wax to providecoated finished calcium fortified food pieces having a desirable shinyappearance. A blend of liquid oil and paraffin in a weight ratio ofabout 5:1 to about 15:1 is heated to a temperature of about 110° F. toabout 140° F. The oil/wax blend is applied in an enrober in a weightratio of gel food pieces to oil/wax coating of about 100:1 to about1000:1.

In another variation, the topical coating can involve applying (withmoisture 82) a granular sugar coating 84 to form a “sugared” coating toprovide a “sugared” type coated gel food piece that is calciumfortified. In still other variations, the sugared coating canadditionally additional insoluble calcium salts 86. In still othervariations, the coating step can involve a panning operation to providea hard shell or candy coating. The weight ratio (dry basis) of gel foodpiece to coating ranges from about 10:1 to about 100:1, preferably about15:1 to about 50:1.

The coated calcium fortified gel food products so prepared can beconventionally packaged and distributed.

The present invention is illustrated by the following:

EXAMPLE 1

A fruit product of the present invention is prepared from the followingformulation:

Ingredient Weight % Grape Concentrate 15.00 Corn syrup 30.00 Sucrose25.00 Corn Starch 6.00 Pectin 1.50 Canola oil 3.50 Lecithin 0.35 Citricacid 1.30 Tricalcium phosphate 1.50 Sodium hexametaphosphate 0.10Color/flavorings 0.10 Water 15.65 100.00%

Twenty Kilograms of corn syrup and fruit solids are blended together.Thereafter, the cornstarch and sucrose are mixed into the fruitblend/corn syrup blend. The wet mixture has moisture content of about25%.

The nutritive carbohydrate content is about 60%. The ratio of mono- todi-saccharide is about 1.4:1.

The wet blend is then preheated in a kettle to about 82.2° C. (180° F.).Immediately thereafter, the wet mixture is cooked using steam injectionor vacuum cooking at 230-350° F. to a moisture content of about 20% toform a par-dried sweetened fruit blend. A pectin water blend is preparedand heated to 180° F. to hydrate the pectin. This blend is added to thefinal cooked blend. Separately, slurry was prepared of 0.67 kgtricalcium phosphate and 1.73 kg canola oil. The tricalcium phosphate isscreened through a #100 U.S. standard sieve to ensure a particle size ofless than 150 microns. The canola oil is heated to about 110° F. andthen admixed with the tricalcium phosphate to form the slurry blend.

Acid is added to set the pectin. Finally, the flavorings and colorantsare added.

Thereafter, the calcium fortified par-dried sweetened fruit compositionis formed into finished gelled pieces using a starch molding technique.Small portions of the gellable calcium fortified composition aredeposited into trays of starch into which impressions of the desiredpiece definition have been pressed.

The trays of deposited fruit slurry are allowed to dry for a period of12 to 48 hours to the final desired moisture of 18%.

EXAMPLE 2

A fruit product of the present invention is prepared from the followingformulation:

Ingredient Weight % Pear Juice concentrate 10.00 Sucrose 37.00 CornSyrup 25.00 Cornstarch 6.00 Pectin 1.00 Tricalcium phosphate 2.00 CitricAcid 1.00 Propylene glycol 1.00 Dicalcium phosphate 0.90 Sucrose finegranulation 1.00 Natural and artificial flavor 0.10 Water 15.00 100.00%

The total nutritive carbohydrate concentration is about 65%. The ratioof mono- to di-saccharides is about 0.78:1.

A blend of 120 lbs. of the above ingredients except for dicalciumphosphate and the fine granulation of sucrose was made in a similarmanner to that in Example 1. After curing the product is removed fromthe starch. The food product is then coated with a preblend oftricalcium phosphate and sucrose-fine granulation.

1. A sweetened low moisture food gel fortified with insoluble calcium,comprising: about 55% to 85% nutritive carbohydrate sweeteners;sufficient amounts of a gelling agent to provide a gel strength of about1-8 kg/cm²; about 10 to 25% moisture; about 0.5 to 5% of an ediblelipid(s), and, an insoluble calcium phosphate salt in a quantitysufficient to bring the total soluble and insoluble calcium content ofthe gel to from about 0.6 to 5.5% by weight (wet basis), said calciumphosphate salt having a particle size distribution such that 90% have aparticle size of less than 150 microns.
 2. The food gel of claim 1,additionally comprising: about 0.1% to 1% of a soluble calciumsequestering ingredient; and, about to 1% to 2.5% of an edible lipid(s).3. The food product of claim 1, additionally comprising: an effectiveamount of oil soluble flavor or color.
 4. The food product of claim 2wherein at least a portion of the nutritive carbohydrate sweeteners areprovided by fruit solids provided by fruit juice, fruit juice powders,fruit purees, fruit nectars, fruit pulp, concentrated fruit juice, andmixtures thereof.
 5. The food product of claim 3 additionally comprisingabout 0.1% to 10% starch.
 6. The food product of claim 5 wherein atleast a portion of the gelling agent is supplied by a member from thegroup consisting of agar, gelatin, gellan gum, pectin and mixturesthereof.
 7. The food product of claim 6 wherein the gel comprises anirreversible gel forming hydrophilic colloid.
 8. The food product ofclaim 7 wherein at least a portion of the irreversible gel forming thehydrophilic colloid is pectin.
 9. The food product of claim 8 whereinthe weight ratio of mono-saccharides to di-saccharides ranges from about0.5:1 to about 1.8:1.
 10. The food product of claim 9 wherein the geladditionally comprises sufficient amounts of edible organic acid toprovide a gel pH of about 3.2 to 3.5. and wherein the gel is free ofcalcium carbonate.
 11. The food product of claim 1 additionallycomprising about 0.1% to about 10% fructo oligo saccharide.
 12. The foodproduct of claim 10 wherein the food gel contains less than 0.1%alginate.
 13. The food product of claim 12 wherein the gel ishomogeneous.
 14. The food product of claim 13 wherein the gel isheterogeneous and additionally includes food particulates having a sizeof 0.2 to 1 centimeters.
 15. The food product of claim 14 wherein thecalcium phosphate is supplied by an insoluble material selected from thegroup consisting of monobasic, dibasic or tribasic calcium phosphatesalts, their hydrates and mixtures thereof.
 16. The food product ofclaim 15 wherein at least a portion of the calcium is supplied bytricalcium phosphate.
 17. The food product of claim 6 wherein at least aportion of the gelling agent is gelatin.
 18. The food product of claim16 wherein the oil soluble flavors are present at about 0.05% to 1%. 19.The food product of 18 in the form of individual pieces.
 20. The foodpiece of claim 1 in the form of individual pieces, each having a weightof about 1 to 5 g.
 21. The food piece of claim 20 wherein the individualpieces have a topical coating selected from the group consisting ofcrystallize sugar, a sugar shell or edible lipid.
 22. The food productof claim 21 wherein the topical coating is an edible oil.
 23. The foodproduct of claim 22 wherein the edible oil is admixed with wax in aweight ratio of oil to wax of from about 1:1; to about 2:1.
 24. The foodpiece of claim 20 having been formed into individual pieces by starchmolding.
 25. The food product of claim 10 wherein at least a portion ofthe fructo oligo saccharide is inulin.
 26. The food product of claim 25wherein at least a portion of the edible lipid is medium chain lengthtriglycerides.
 27. The food product of claim 26 wherein at least aportion of the medium chain length triglycerides is supplied by canolaoil.
 28. The food product of claim 21 wherein the topical coatingincludes a mixture of oil and tricalcium phoshate.